Concerning assassins, beastiaries, and random facts.

[gunningforcupid]

I've done a lot of weird research for a modern-day supernatural set novel that I've been working on for a while, but there's one thing that's still bothering me, and two that I need help with.

ONE. [Assassins

Comments

[tabbyclaw]

She could nitpick somebody on the difference between Eastern dragons (and their subspecieses), Western dragons, wyverns, and coatls.

[gunningforcupid]

;) It's a thought. Educate me on what "coatls" are?

[tabbyclaw]

Winged serpents from Aztec myth. I envisioned the comment as going something like, "No, you've got it completely backwards. It's all about the number of legs, you see."

Re: Assassins

[gunningforcupid]

:D Thank you so much! That makes a lot of sense. I don't really want to connect my assassin to a mob, but the crypting information is pure awesomeness.

[mature]

I realise you're probably looking for a fantasy bestiary, but I'd personally like to recommend the Book of Beasts, a translation that T. H. White did from a 12th-century Latin original; real and unreal beasties are mixed throughout, and it is heavily and lovingly annotated. Dover reprints it, and I love my copy (bought it my senior year of highschool 15 years ago) to itty bitty pieces.

[kitlizzy]

I love that book!! :D

[gunningforcupid]

XD I'll have to look into that! I remember I was looking at some old book like that one time where they had a "unicorn" documented - .. a unicorn with leathery hide, one larger horn and a smaller one, thick stout legs and a tiny tail .. because some old scholar had visited Africa and hadn't known what to make of a rhino.

PS - LOVE the icon. xD

[a_l_]

For the random facts, I've heard of an urban legend (I'm not sure where it originated from.) in New Jersey or Chicago about a creature in the form of a faceless woman would appear in your dreams. If you dream about her, you will wake up without a face and die unless you are not afraid of her and drink a glass of water. It goes something like that. Weird, I know

[gunningforcupid]

The Phillipines, huh? I'll have to inquire into that .. :3 One of my buddies has a mother from there. Maybe she'd know.

Vampires in every culture are different; they go by different names, have different supernatural powers, and can be killed in a thousand different ways. ~<3

Green Maiden. Several images come to mind, but I'm not sure what you're referring to - which culture is this? A specific myth? *laughs* Admittedly, the first thing that occurred to me is the Girl With the Green Ribbon, but for some reason I'm also conjuring up images of something Celtic, dripping wet.

[a_l_]

I seemed to have made a mistake on something I wrote on the Yamawara. Knowing the name of the Yawamara will not help anyone overcome them. I meants knowing the name of a dark creature itself will help subdue them. I seriously suggest you check this method first.

Green Maiden was a fairy I tale I found in a book about a green lady (all green in clothes, hair, skin, eyes, white of the eyes, etc.) She would come out of a lake and have a flock of cows. I think she makes a bit of a racket when she blows that horn of hers to get her flock of cows back. It's also troublesome when some of them wander away. Supposedly, the disappearance of one cow led to the appearance of black cows. It seems to be from a European culture, judging by the pictures.

[cheshire23]

Sounds a bit similar to a kelpie, actually. :)

[bwinter]

Most real-life assassins you hear about over here are attatched to criminal groups - you go to the gang for the hit, and someone there knows someone who knows someone else, etc. Alternatively, blinds can be used in the process - for example someone in a small country with no extradiction policies, who receives e-mail from the clients and e-mails or calls the assassin. I don't think there'd be much call for the Day of the Jackal type of stuff - most hits are crude, and you don't need many skills except for determination/ruthlessness to pull them off.

As for Beastiaries, I recommend the D&D ones. Wealth of information, and if you have RP gamer friends, you can borrow them. I own two AD&D ones, they come out whenever I'm short of inspiration.

And finally, for the vampires - go read Terry Pratchett's "Carpe Jugulum", it's chock-full of the stuff. If you're allergic to Pratchett (I know there are some poor souls like that), there's a list of annotations that includes most of the monster trivia that is used in the book.

[tabbyclaw]

Seconding Carpe Jugulum, but if you're not in the mood to read it, I humbly submit the best bit of vampire lore ever: vampire watermelons. I'm not kidding.

[gunningforcupid]

My assassin would need a bit more than the average assassin today - she's a human set up to take care of almost any supernatural critter available to my imagination. *G* A contact in another country sounds like a neat alternative; I don't want to attach her to any group, but having a few people scattered here and there who could get in touch with her makes more sense.

TERRYPRACHETTOMG. *has a fangirl moment* I was introduced to him within the past two years or so, and I'm still reading through the entire set of his books. I haven't gotten to Carpe Jugulum yet, but now I'll make it a point to pick it up.

Allergic to Prachett? I can't imagine. *fans self, trying to prevent a swoon*